Jaipur: Around 4,000 students from 50 schools will come together for four days of sporting competition at the 14th Bhawani Singh Memorial tournament in Jaipur, scheduled from Nov 2 to 5, 2026. The tournament will feature eight sporting disciplines, including football, basketball, volleyball, handball, kabaddi, tennis, pickleball and chess.Held annually in memory of Bhawani Singh (MVC), the tournament celebrates his legacy as a distinguished polo player and passionate supporter of sports. The event aims to carry forward his values of sporting excellence, discipline and teamwork while providing young athletes from schools across the region with a platform to showcase their abilities.
Four-day sporting event to bring together young athletes in Jaipur from Nov 2 to 5, 2026
This year’s tournament brings together traditional and emerging sports under one platform.While kabaddi has been a familiar part of Indian school sports for generations, pickleball represents one of the newer sporting disciplines gaining popularity in schools. The inclusion of both reflects the tournament’s commitment to offering students exposure to a diverse range of sports.Vaidehi Singh, principal, Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh School, said, “Over 14 editions, we have watched children arrive at this tournament with enthusiasm and leave with fond memories, life skills and lasting friendships. Over the years, the Memorial Tournament has grown into a valuable platform for young athletes to showcase their talent, experience, and the true spirit of sportsmanship.”The tournament also comes at a time when children’s screen time is increasingly becoming a concern. A 2025 study involving 537 schoolchildren in India, with an average age of approximately 11 years, found that they spent around three hours a day on screens. Against this backdrop, bringing 4,000 students together for four consecutive days of outdoor sporting activities offers an opportunity to encourage physical activity, teamwork and greater participation in sports.
Four-day sporting event to bring together young athletes in Jaipur from Nov 2 to 5, 2026
Organising an event of this scale requires extensive coordination. Fifty participating schools have selected their teams, made travel arrangements and committed four days to sporting competition and learning. For students, the tournament provides an opportunity to compete against teams from other schools that they may not encounter during the regular academic year. It also allows them to assess their abilities, gain competitive experience and build friendships beyond their own institutions.Mahivardhan Singh, sports coordinator and coach at Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh School, said, “The gap between a good player and a great one at 16 is often decided at 8. How often a child plays at that age, and who is coaching them, shapes a lot of what comes after. That is why we keep this tournament open to so many schools and so many sports.”While the tournament provides a platform for young athletes to demonstrate their abilities, access to regular sports coaching remains a challenge for many families. In several Indian cities, quality sports academies are often located far from residential neighbourhoods. For children balancing school, tuition and other commitments, travelling long distances through evening traffic can make continuing regular sports training difficult.
Four-day sporting event to bring together young athletes in Jaipur from Nov 2 to 5, 2026
FanToPark, the tournament’s sports sponsor, is working to address this challenge through its coaching programme, FanToPark Play, in Delhi-NCR. The programme brings trained and certified coaches into residential societies, allowing children to access sports coaching close to home rather than travelling long distances to academies. Coaches are recruited locally and assigned to locations near their homes. Parents can also track attendance, monitor progress and view photographs from training sessions through the FanToPark app.
Four-day sporting event to bring together young athletes in Jaipur from Nov 2 to 5, 2026
The programme currently provides coaching to more than 1,000 children across Gurugram, Delhi and Noida, with an aim to reach 10,000 children next year. Jaipur is FanToPark’s first city outside Delhi-NCR, and its association with the memorial tournament marks the company’s first public initiative in the city.Amit Purohit, founder and CEO, FanToPark, said, “We get groceries, food and almost everything else delivered to our door now, and sport should be just as easy to reach. A child who discovers a sport at a tournament like this should be able to keep playing it close to home.”
Four-day sporting event to bring together young athletes in Jaipur from Nov 2 to 5, 2026
The 14th Bhawani Singh Memorial tournament will commence on Nov 2, 2026, at Jagatpura, Jaipur, and conclude on Nov 5, bringing together students, schools and young sporting talent for four days of competition, learning and camaraderie.
